About Braai Calculator
"Nou gaan ons braai!"
The story
Braai Calculator started as a tongue-in-cheek side project in 2025. A wave of South Africans were relocating overseas, comparing their grocery bills to home, and asking the same questions in expat WhatsApp groups every Friday: how much wors do I buy? how many beers? what's this going to cost me here vs back home?
So we built the simplest possible answer: a calculator that takes a guest count, lets you tick what's on the fire, and tells you the total in your local currency. With estimated prices from real shops: Pick n Pay, Checkers and Woolworths in South Africa, plus SA specialty shops and local supermarkets in the USA, UK and Australia. Each line has a last-checked date. Treat it as a planning number, not a till slip.
It is used by people in South Africa and by Saffers in the UK, the US, Australia and the rest of the diaspora who still want a proper fire on the weekend. Most visits come from people who typed a practical question: how much wors, how much meat, what does this cost.
What we believe
- A braai is meat-led, but it's about people. The calculator is a starting point, not a doctrine. Cook what your crowd loves.
- Free should mean free. No login, no email harvest, no paywall. The site is supported by a few non-intrusive ads and (eventually) small affiliate commissions if you click through to buy boerewors overseas.
- Honest numbers. Every price has a "last verified" date attached. When we're estimating (e.g. for an SA shop in Sydney), we say so.
- Don't take it too seriously. It's a braai. The fire is the point.
How we keep prices fresh
We refresh our price estimates regularly using a mix of in-store checks, publicly listed shelf prices and reader corrections. Every item carries its own "last verified" date so you can see at a glance how recent each estimate is.
Prices change. Specials come and go. If you spot something that looks off, email us with the item, the price you saw, and where you saw it. We aim to update within a couple of days.
Who's behind it
The site is run by a small team of South African developers and braai enthusiasts. We're all part of the diaspora ourselves, between us we've cooked wors in Cape Town, Johannesburg, London, Austin and Sydney. We know what the search for proper boerewors abroad feels like.
Advertising
We apply to show ads so the site can stay free. Ads, if they appear, sit around the guides and the calculator. They should not cover the list you came for. We do not sell your email because we do not collect one. The privacy policy explains cookies, Google AdSense and analytics.
Get in touch
For corrections, suggestions, missing shops, or just to say hi:
- 📧 lekker@braaicalculator.com
- 💡 If you run an SA shop overseas and want it added to our expat directory, drop us your URL, we'll review and add it.
- 🐛 Found a bug or a wrong price? Same email, prefix the subject with
[BUG]or[PRICE].